Cigarette rolling machine



Jan. 27, 1959 w. A. DE BRUYNE 2,879,770

CIGARETTE ROLLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR W. De BRUYNE BY: f f /ATTORNEYS 0 w. A. DE BRUYNE CIGARETTE ROLLING MACHINE Jan. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 5. 1956 f 7 ATTORNEYS INVENTOR w. DeBRUYNE United States Patent CIGARETTE ROLLING MACHINE Willem A. de Bruyne, Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada Application November 5, 1956, Serial No. 620,274

Claims. (Cl. 131-37) This invention relates to cigarette rolling machines and in particular to a cigarette rolling machine of a type and size which is adapted for hand operation and for domestic use.

Hand operated cigarette rolling machines of various types have been in common use for a number of years. In the main, they are machines which are adapted to perform only the rolling operation and do not provide any means for forming a charge of tobacco and supplying it to the rolling mechanism nor do they provide any means for supplying a paper to the rolling mechanism. As a rule both of these operations must be done by hand, the tobacco being first positioned in a pocket formed by a slack web between a pair of parallel rollers and a moistened paper then being placed on the web in such a position as to be wrapped around the charge of tobacco during the rolling operation which is performed by the machine. The present invention proposes to provide a machine in which a supply of tobacco and a supply of papers may be stored, the machine being provided with means to gather a charge of tobacco, supply it to the rolling mechanism, roll the charge of tobacco and finally wrap it with a moistened paper and then deliver the finished cigarette to a position from which it may readily be removed from the machine.

The advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from a consideration of the following description when read in the light of the appended drawings in which like reference numerals denote like parts in the various views and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cigarette rolling machine made in accordance with this invention, part of the machine being cut away to show the internal construction;

Figure 2 is a detailed anism inside the machine;

Figure 3 is a side elevation in cross-section of the machine shown in Figure 1;

perspective view of the mech- Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the machine shown in Figure 3 with the operating mechanism in the mid-way position, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a cigarette paper. Referring firstly to Figure 1 the cigarette rolling machine will be seen to comprise generally a hollow substantially cylindrical body 10 which is closed by means of end'plates 11 and 12. A pair of bosses 13 and 14 which are diametrically opposed on the external surface of the body 10 serve to support it on an inverted' U-shaped bracket 15 by means of bolts 16 which pass through apertures in the bracket and into threaded bolt receiving apertures in the bosses 13 and14.

A shaft 17 extends axially through the cylindrical body and projects for a short distance on each. side thereof through the end plates. To these extending portions of the shaft are secured a pair of levers 18 which extend in both directions beyond the periphery of the body. At end 18a of the levers they are joined by a yoke 19 to which is secured an operating handle 20. At the opposite 2. ends 18b the levers are joined by a rolling mechanism 37 which will be described in detail below. I

The body itself is made from three independent parts which are secured in their relative positions by means of the end plates 11 and 12. These individual parts will be separately described below, during the description it being assumed that they are occupying their proper relative positions by reason of being secured to the end plate 12 (see Figure 3). 7

Referring nowto Figures 1 and3 the body portion will be seen to comprise an upper cylindrical portion 21 which includes the bosses 13 and 14 by which the mechanism is supported on the mounting bracket15. A seggroove 24 in the edges of the aperture in the upper portion 21. The door 22 is provided with a recess 25 by which it may be gripped by the operators finger to slide it axially of the body to gain access to the interior of the' upper body portion. As is seen in Figure 1 the corresponding portion of end plate 11 is also cut away along its periphery to enable the door 22 to slide axially of the body.

The upper body portion 21 terminates at lower edges 26 which lie in a plane parallel to and slightly below the diameter of the body whichv contains the diametrically opposed bosses 13 and 14 and the shaft 17. The lower portion of the body shown generally at 27 consists of two moisture containing chambers 28 which are provided with lower surfaces 29 which, when the chambers 28 are positioned on the end plate 12 in the manner shown in Figure 3 complete the cylindrical outer configuration of the body member. The chambers are hollow and contain an absorbent material 82 which is in contact with wicks 81 extending through slots in the chambers. Water may be added to the chambers 28 through openings 28a provided in their upper surfaces for this purpose. The upper edges 30 of the chambers 28, when they are positioned asshown in Figure 3, are spaced from the lower edges 26 of the upper portion 21 to provide two oppositely opening slots S which extend in a direction parallel to the axis of the cylindrical body. The two chambers 28 are separated from one another by a space which is occupied by a cigarette paper dispensing mechanism 31 which will be described in greater detail below.

Between the upper portion 21 and the moisture chambers 28 is a bed plate 32 which lies substantially along a chord of the cylinder defined by the upper and lower portions of the body. The bed plate 32 is made from sheet metal and is provided with reinforcing blocks 33 which have threaded apertures 34 at each end to receive bolts 35 (see Figure l) which secure the end plate to the bed plate 32. The ends 36 of the bed plate 32 extend into the slots Sin the periphery ofthe cylinder defined between the upper portion 21 and the surfaces 29 of the moisture chambers 28 and approximately divide the slots S between edges 30 of the lower portion and 26 of the upper portion into upper slots S and lower slots S".

From the above description it will be seen that when the end plates 11 and 12 are secured to the upper portion 21, to the bed plate 32 and to the moisture chambers,

Secured of'levers 18 which; at one end, form the operating handle 20'and -which, at-the other end; carry the rolling mechanism indicated generally at :37.

The rolling mechanism 37 'isvformed by threeparallel rollers which are rotatably mounted 'about their axes along one side of a-pair of triangularplates 41 and 42. The axes of rollers 3 8i- 39and 40 lie in an arc the centre of'which 'is the;ceptre of shaft 17; The'triangular plates 4 1--an d-42 are held-in their spacedfparallel relationship by means of 'spacer cylinder 44 which lies between the vertexof the triangular plates opposed to the side along whichthe rollers-are ro t'atably mountedl A shaft 43 passes through the ends 18b of the levers ;1 ;8 ,through an aperture in the triangular plates 41 and 42 and through.

hollow cylindrical spacer 44 andfis securedin posifieneby e ns f n t r tet eshr end. .e t s a Thus,

hen-ep re qahe er 9 is ;.meve 1' rom h pesitient shown n Figure-3 to-the ppsition shown in F igure 1 the rolling mechanisinjSTwill move from a position adjacent one rid of the bed-plat'32 to a position adjacent the Qverlying the external lower surface ofthe-body is a.

slack web of fabric 46 which is rigidly secured to the lower surface of boss 14 by means of a plate 47 which clamps the end of-the fabric web between it and the lower surfacezof the. boss 14. The p late 47 is secured in iposition by means of a plurality of screws 4:6. The width of the slack fabric web 46 is equal to the axial length of thebody which, in turn, is equal to the length of the cigarette which: is to be'madeby the machin'ei The other end of web 46 is secured beneath the lower surface of boss 13 by means' of'an adjustable mechanisrn which comprises a slotted roller 49;. The endof web 46 is inserted in ,the slot of roller 49 and the roller rotated in its mounting membersSO until the web is of the proper length for optimum rellingcharacteristics. The roller is then locked in positionby nieans of nut 51. The web 4,- of course, lies between the: external surface of the body and the rolling mechanism'b] and the length of the web: 36 is 'suljiciently greater thanlthe peripheral distance between its fastening pointsso that a pocket an adjacent pair of rollers in the 'rolling meqhanism;

Referring 'nowto Figures Z and, 3 theirhechanism which;

lies within the body of the cigarette rolling machine will bedescribed in detail,

The s ed .i seas de-red o x' eri e nii v eee chamber andailowenchamber, the 'ne, ofdemarkati n The lengthofithe section 52 is,Tsubstantially'equal to the distance rbetweenthe interiorf facescof'the end. plates 11 and 12. An openended box like structurec53 surrounds the portion of shaft 17 of rectangular 'sectionand is a sliding fit thereover. The box-like section 53 thasside wa1ls 53aand oneend wa ll 53b; Theother end wall 54 is provided with spaced lugs 55 which extend in a direction parallel totheside walls 53kt as ca n be seen inFigtire i2 The lugs SS are provided withcoaxial drillings extending completely through them whereby two oppositely directed pushing shoes 56 may be pivotally secured theteto by means of shaft 57;. At least one coil spring 58' is positioned withinthe qbox' metnber -53fand bears atone end against the lower surface 5 2a of shaft 17 and,- t, ther ther e id a sten e 54 f h Q mb 53 In this rrianner, as pan beseen fromFigure 3, the pressing shoes 56 arelrnaintained' in constant spring biased contact with the upper surfacepfibed plate 32.

Pivotally secured to the box member 53 at points 59 and60 are two tobacco gathering plates 61 and 62. The 2 90 gathering plates. 61 an1d 62'.pass. through slots in rotatable rods 63=andfl64u which serve as guide means therefor. B'etWeen 'the free;ends.65 .and 6150f hQC Q 4; gathering plates 61 and 62 and the ends 36 of the bed plate 32-are a pair of short-webs-67--and68-whieh-areofa width equal to the width of the tobacco gathering plates which, in turn, are of a width substantially equal to the distance between the internal surfaces of the end plates 11 and 12.

Referring now to the paper dispensing mechanism 31 which is positioned in the, recess 69 between the moisture containing chambers,2 8 it will beseen (refer to Figure 4-) that the paper'dispensing mechanism 31comprises a container in which a conventional packageof cigarette papers 70 are stored in interfolded relationship in such a manner that when one-paper is withdrawn between the guide lips 71 of the mechanism31 a se ;0nd paper is partially withdrawn in readiness for the next pass of the rolling mechanism. The holder 31 for the papers is provided with a stub shaft extending from each end thereof and seating in a vertical slot 72 cut in the internal surface of the end-plates 11- and'12: This slot '72-is shown'in dotted lines 'in Figure 4,- andcan be seen -in per spective in Figure 1. A cover plate 73'extends between-- the upper surfaces 28a of the moisture containing charnhers 28 to enclose the -recess 69-frorn above. The web 46encloses it from below. The slot 72 in the en'd plates 11 and 12 extends vertically in a direction sutficient that the lips 7 10f the paper containing mechanism 31may lie in contact with the upper surfaee of the web 46 so thata when the rolling mechanism passes over it--the end-ot the paper which is extending between the'lips 71 will be pinched between the roll of .tobacco indicated by reference' characters TR and the web '46 to be withdrawn from the paper containing mechanism.

Operation 7 I-Lavingdescribedthe construction. of the machine theoperation'during one completecyole willf now-be described -in detail. a

In the drawings the sequence of= operation ofthe cigarette making machine may be-observed :frorn'considering the drawings in the order-of Figure-3; Figure 4 and Figure 1. Figure 3 shows-the first position, Fig-' ure 4 shows an intermediate position and-Figure --1 shows the final position of the mechanisjrnduring the-rollingof a single cigarette.-

In order to commence the operation it will"be}necessaryfor Figure 3 to be considered first: In-Fjgure 13' it will be observed that the pushingjshoe" 56'f'has just pushed a charge oftobaccoT into the' poeket Md formed by the sl ack web 46 between the adjacent pair-of rollers 39" and 40: By referring to the opposite side-of Figure 3 it can be seen how this has been accomplished; If the movement of tobacco gathering plate 61' is--considered during the movement of operating handle 20 1 from its position in Figure 3 to the position in Figure 1 Y i'ngyplate to firstly move in a direction, substantially parallelto its plane in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 3. Further movement of the handle 20 will cause the tobacco gathering plate 61' to occupy a. position corresponding to the posi'tion of tobacco gathering plate 62 shown in Figure 3; During" this movement the end 61a of the' plate will have approached the interior side wall 2h; of the tobacco" chamber 21 and will have gathered W thin t e. w b 61 selpou h. of to ac o w c i be iee ve y vs p terll rom, the rem n r f t e tobacco 9, thin th beeeec hamlzej t Approximately t. e time that the end etae 't e t bac o ga herin p te: 61 Will e pp a hi e low {edge K 60 h li 'rp yl dr a {P t on 211 f the 'od vdu to he p ot n movement of the handle 20'; theip'ressing foot 56 will move intocontact with the web 67 to push thetobracco c'ontainedtherein through, the slot ,5? betweenthebed plate 32 and the lower edge 26 of the upper cylindrical member 21 At this time also the rolling mechanism will be positioned over this slot 5' in a position to receive the charge of tobacco contained by the web 67. Accordingly, from this description let it be assumed in Figure 3 that the pocket 46a contains a charge of tobacco and that the handle 20 is being moved in the direction indicated by the arrow to cause the rolling mechanismt37 to pass along the lower surface of the cylindrical body member towards the opposite end of its travel.

During the initial movement of therolling mechanism the movement of the rollers, due to its movement relative to the web 46, will. cause the charge of tobacco T within the pocket 46a tobe rolled to form it into a smooth cylindrical body ready to receive a cigarette paper which is to be wrapped about it.

Referring now to Figure 4 it will be seen that as the rolling mechanism 37 passes under the recess 69 within which is positioned the paper dispensing mechanism 31., the lips 71 of the mechanism 31 will drop into the pocket 46a for a slight distance and a paper 70 which is protruding from between the lips will be pinched between the tobacco roll TR and the web which passes about roller 40 and will be caused to wrap itself around the charge of tobacco. The edge 7% of the paper 70 is unglued and the edge 70]), which is still within the mechanism 31, carries a thin film of glue along its surface as seenin Figure 5. Continued movement of the rolling mechanism 37 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 4 will cause the paper 70 to be completely withdrawn from the holding mechanism 31. This withdrawal of the paper will be completed before the pocket 46ahas completely passed frombeneath the recess 69 within which the papers are stored. As la final movement during the withdrawal of the paper 70 from the mechanism 31, the glued edge 7% of the paper 70 will be flicked against the moistened end 81 of an absorbent material 82 contained within the moisture chambers 28. The exposed end 81 of the absorbent material 82 acts as a wick to apply moisture to the glued edge 70b of the paper 7% thereby enabling the rolling mechanism during the remainder of its travel to complete the gluing and wrapping of the tobacco roll TR.

Referring now to Figure 1 it will be seen that when the rolling mechanism 37 reaches the limit of. its travel in this one direction the tobacco gathering plate 62 and the presser shoe 56 will be ready to deliver a second charge of tobacco to the rolling mechanism.

It is to be noted in this connection that in Figure l the charge of tobacco is supplied to the pocket 46a which lies between the adjacent pair of rollers 38 and 39 whereas in Figure 3 the charge of tobacco is being supplied to the pocket 46a between the adjacent pair of rollers 39 and 40. In this manner when the charge of tobacco T is being applied to the pocket 46a between rollers 39 and 40 the tension applied to the belt or web 46 will pop the completed cigarette 83 (see Figure 3) from its pocket between rollers 38 and 39 and the completed cigarette will roll through slotS" and over the upper surface 28a of the moisture chambers 28 and will come to rest on the cover plate 73 of the recess 69 for the paper dispensing mechanism 31. cigarette may then be removed fromthe machine manually through opening 84 in the end plates 11 and 12. The movement of the operating handle 20 in the opposite direction will complete the rolling of a cigarette in pocket 46a between rollers 38 and 39 and the second cigarette will be deposited on the upper surface 28a of the moisture chamber '23 at the opposite end of the travel from the position shown in Figure 3.

From the above description it will be apparent that the operation of this cigarette rolling machine is completely automatic as long as there is a supply of tobacco 80 in the upper tobacco chamber and an adequate supply of papers in the paper dispensing mechanism 31 and suflicient moisture in the moisture containing chambers.

The completed grams 6 v 28. It will be appreciated that means have been provided to automatically supply a charge of tobacco to the rolling mechanism and to supply a paper to the rolling mechanism at the appropriate time. g

The machine has been described in particular detail with reference to the attached drawings of a preferred embodiment. It will be appreciated, however, that the description and the illustrations areintended to be illustrative of the invention rather than limiting and it is contemplated that minor modifications in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A cigarette rolling machine comprising a hollow body divided internally by a bed plate into an upper tobacco chamber and a lower chamber, the lower chamher having an external surface which is a segment of a cylinder having an axis, a slack web overlying the cylindrical portion, a lever pivoted at the axis of the external surface of the lower chamber and extending in one direction beyond the said external surface to carry a roller mechanism riding on the slack web and extending in another direction beyond the body to form an operating handle, the roller mechanism comprising three spaced parallel rollers lying on the web and adapted to contain a loop of the web between two adjacent rollers to form a tobacco receiving pocket, the external surface of the lower chamber having two oppositely opening slots therein, one on either side of the lower chamber, means within the tobacco chamber associated with the pivoted lever to push a charge of tobacco through a slot into the tobacco receiving pocket when the pocket is positioned over the said slot and a paper dispensing and moistening mechanism mounted in a recess midway between the two slots to feed a moistened cigarette paper into the rolling mechanism to surround the tobacco contained therein.

2. A cigarette rolling machine comprising a hollow body having a side wall and two end walls, the body being divided internally by a bed plate into an upper tobacco chamber and a lower chamber, the lower chamber having an external surface which is a segment of a cylinder having an axis which extends between the end walls, a slack web overlying the cylindrical surface of the lower chamher, a main shaft rotatably mounted in the end walls along the axis of the lower cylindrical surface of the body and extending through the end walls, two levers, one lever rigidly fixed to each end of the main shaft externally of the body and extending beyond the body in both senses of a diametn'c direction, a handle assembly joining the two levers at their one ends and a roller mechanism joining the opposite ends of the levers and overlying the slack web, the roller mechanism comprising three spaced parallel rollers lying on the web and adapted to contain a loop of the web between adjacent rollers to form a tobacco receiving pocket, the external surface of V the lower chamber having two oppositely opening slots therein, one at each side of the external surface, means associated with the main shaft inside the tobacco chamber to push a charge of tobacco through the slot into the tobacco receiving pocket formed by a loop of the web between a pair of adjacent rollers when the pocket is positioned over the slot and a paper dispensing and moistening mechanism mounted in a recess mid-way between the two slots to feed a'moistened cigarette paper into the rolling mechanism to surround the tobacco contained therein as the roller mechanism is moved from one end of the slack web' to the'other.

3. A cigarette rolling machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the means associated with thermain shaft inside the tobacco chamber includes two tobacco gathering plates one pivotally secured on each side of the main shaft andextending through a guide means towards each slot in the external surface of the lower chamber, two webs, one associated with each tobacco gathering plate and joining that edge of its tobacco gathering. plate remote ea /awe which isv mol ntedlin vertical'slots ipslidinginovernent, the edges ofthejrecess adjacent the: cylindricalfwa-ll being provided with wicks extending intotchambersadapted to receive ,Water on Ieachlside oithe recess,

5. A cigarette rolling machine comprising a hollow body having, aiside, wall. two end" walls, the body being divided internally, by a, bed' plate into. an upper tobacco chamber and a lower chamber, the lower. chamber having anexternal'surface which is aseg'rnent of a cylinder having an axis which;,extends.betweemthe end walls, a slack web overlying;the external surface of the lower chamber; a main shaft rotatably mounted inthe end walls along theaxisloithe external snrfacerof the lower chamber and extending through the end walls, two levers, one lever rigidly-fixedto each end of the main shaft ex ternally of the body andextending beyond the body in both senses of a diameter. direction, a handle assembly joining the ends of the levers at their one ends and a roller mechanism joiningtheopposite ends of. the levers and overlying the slack web, the roller mechanism comprising three spaced parallel rollers lying on the Web and adaptedfto contain a,loop-of the web between adjacent pairs of rollers to form the external surface of the lower chamber'having two slots therein, one open- Parallel to the rollers of-ctheroll ing in one direction at one sideof the external surface and. t e h p n n. onp itetdi ctionet. he o h sid tot. the ex rnal wee, the the i lets bein ,m ehan ma ndl e ea r, a tobaccqgat rin naenmtaa e ure on each, side ofvthe main shaft, and, extending throngh guide :means towards each slot in theflbody, twotw ebs, one associated with each tobacco gathering plate and joining that .edge of each tobacco gather g plate remote from the shaft to the adjacent. edge of the, bed, plate and means mounted on the main shaft inside the to bacco chamber and spring biased tori deon the bed plate to push against one of thewebsjoiningone of;the tobacco gathering plates and I the bed plate wvhenfthe roller mechanism is positioned over one, of the-slots in the externalsurface o f the lQWerchamber, to fill; the tobacco receiving; pocket between adjacent; pairs ofi l er a P pe i pensing and moi tenin me h: n sm. o p ngw p ye cont in piv tal y moun ed in arecess-in the bottom cylindrical wall of the; body about anaxis which is parallel to the axis of,,the main shaft. and which is mounted invertical slotsfor sliding movement, the edges of the recess adjacenflthecflin; drical wall being provided with Wicksextending; into chambers adapted to receive water. on each side of the recess, the paper dispensing mechanism delivering a moistened cigarettepaper into the rollingmechanisrmto surround the tobacco containedtherein as the; roller mechanism is moved from' one end of the slack webfio the other. 1 

